The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) Needs Your Support! Students, parents and schools who want to have a choice in the source of their student loans are encouraged to let their congressmen in Washington know. For more than 40 years KHEAA and The Student Loan People have provided Kentuckians with student loans that not only help Kentucky students get a college education but also provide jobs for hundreds of your friends and neighbors. And when borrowers have questions, those questions are answered by people who live and work in Kentucky. In addition, The Student Loan People have given millions of dollars over the years to support the state’s grant programs that have provided free money for college for thousands of Kentucky students. KHEAA and The Student Loan People have also provided funding for a nationally recognized outreach program that visits every county in Kentucky every year to tell students and parents about the advantages of a college education and how they can pay for college. We also help pay for financial literacy and default management and prevention programs. Those services are available to all Kentuckians because The Student Loan People make and KHEAA guarantees loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). The Obama administration’s 2009 Budget Proposal would end FFELP and force all schools to move to the Federal Direct Loan Program, administered out of Washington, D.C., beginning July 1, 2010. This change would not affect your ability to get a loan, but it would eliminate any choice you have in picking the lender you want, and it would probably cost you money. As of July 1, 2009, Kentucky students who borrow from us to pay the cost of education at Kentucky colleges and universities will not have to pay the origination and default fees charged on Federal Stafford Loans. Under the Direct Loan Program, all borrowers must pay both fees. The switch from FFELP to Direct Loans will take money out of your pocket, add to the national debt, and most likely increase unemployment in Kentucky and impact our state’s college outreach and default prevention programs. America is built on competition and free enterprise, not on a government monopoly. If you believe in free enterprise and want to keep your options open, please contact your congressmen in Washington. How you can help: Let your voice be heard! The best way to contact your representatives is via e-mail. You can locate their contact information by visiting http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/. In addition to the e-mail, you may want to fax your comments. The following is a list of the Kentucky congressmen’s fax numbers. Feel free to use this sample letter. Senator Mitch McConnell: (202) 224-2499 Senator Jim Bunning: (202) 228-1373 Congressman Ben Chandler: (202) 225-2122 Congressman Geoff Davis: (202) 225-0003 Congressman Brett Guthrie: (202) 226-2019 Congressman Hal Rogers: (202) 225-0940 Congressman Ed Whitfield: (202) 225-3547 Congressman John Yarmuth: (202) 225-5776 President Barack Obama: (202) 456-2461 .